Preventive Oral Care
We all want to keep our teeth healthy for life. Decay and gum disease, the two primary causes of tooth loss, can be dramatically minimized, if not prevented, through proper dental hygiene practiced on a regular basis. Some of the elements of proper dental hygiene include brushing twice a day, flossing, eating a balanced diet, limiting between-meal snacks, and seeing your dentist twice a year for cleaning and exam.
Additional preventive methods include the application of dental sealants and exposure to fluoride in the form of fluoridated drinking water, toothpaste, mouthwash, or fluoride treatments directly applied by the dentist.
Smoking can potentially cause many problems. The most common problems:
- bad breath
- staining of the teeth
- more rapid development of tarter
- affect the attachment of bone & soft tissue to the teeth.
ie: receding gums which can cause sensitivity to hot & cold
- delayed healing
- six times more likely to develop Oral Cancer
- periodontal disease
How to Brush
Brushing should take at least two minutes!!
Use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the gumline, hard-to-reach back teeth, and areas around fillings, crowns or other restoration. Concentrate on thoroughly cleaning each section:
- Point the bristles toward the gums
- Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the chewing surfaces
- For fresher breath, be sure to brush your tongue, too
How to Floss
- Proper flossing removes plaque and food particles in places where a toothbrush cannot easily reach — under the gumline and between your teeth.
- Plaque can lead to tooth decay and gum disease so daily flossing is highly recommended.
- Pull out 40 - 50 cm of dental floss from the container. Wrap the ends of the floss around each of your middle fingers, leaving about 2 - 3 cm of floss between your two fingers.
- Use your thumb and index fingers to hold the floss in place.
- Wrap the floss around the tooth into a "C" shape. Gently slide the floss up and down between your tooth and your gums. This will remove dental plaque.
- Use a new section of floss each time you move to a new space between teeth.
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